Hi John, you are going to have a screamer there. You surely have plenty of power but you can always throttle back but you can't throttle up if the power isn't there. If all of your wiring is correct and all components are working the unit should work. I also get sparks when I plug in my 22.2 batteries in the sytem. I suggest that if you don't already have one put in a heavy duty switch between the motor leads and the ESC to isolate the system. this could prevent an accident while carrying the bird out to the flight line. Your system with 38 volts will almost run my Ghia. Do you really need that much juice? You never stated whether the system worked in spite of the fireworks. Norm

That is one of the reasons that I am flying all electric. I carry my plane to the flight line ready to go and when it is my turn I simply place both the receiver and motor switches in "ON" and take off.